This invention relates generally to thread re-forming, and more particularly concerns the provision of a simple, easily adjusted, and lockable tool for effecting such re-forming.
The helical thread of fasteners and on other bodies often become deformed to the extent that nuts cannot be advanced or retracted. Thread re-forming then becomes necessary. One adequate tool described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,659 includes a pair of thread engaging jaws carried by a support, one jaw being carried on an adjustable shaft. When the tool including the jaws is forcibly rotated relative to the thread whose groove is penetrated by the jaws, the thread is re-formed.
The present invention constitutes an improvement on the tool described in that patent, in that it enables additional functions and modes of operation. These include selective locking of one or both jaws against relative rotation so that their "rotary" spacing is maintained constant during thread re-forming; selective locking of the jaws against relative movement linearly toward and away from one another during thread re-forming and, relative rotary and linear adjustment of the jaws prior to and after such re-forming, all for purposes of enhancing the quality of thread re-forming, accommodating the tool to different size thread, and facilitating ease of operation and adjustment.